A Walk In The Park

As soon as you move away from the relative calm of the side streets here, the chaos of big city life hits you like a sledgehammer. It’s the pedestrian’s worst nightmare. Where the pavements aren’t being dug up (with all the attendant dust and grime),

every 40 or 50 metres they are cluttered with newspaper and magazine sellers

and florists

So, enough of that. I wanted some space as did these chaps

who soon met up with their doggy mates for some chat and some fun.The green spaces in this Palermo district are beautiful. A cross between Hyde Park and Kew Gardens only bigger. A tranquil oasis slap bang in the middle of this urban sprawl. There are acres of wide open space; there’s a formal rose garden,

and a botanical garden full of the most gorgeous trees, shrubs and plants

plus, of course, numerous statues.

This pretty little thing is called Canto de la Cosechadora which I thought meant some kind of singing person. However, Google Translate tells me it means ‘Ridge of the Combine’. So now you know!

A few wide ‘boulevards’ criss cross the green bits, some of which have been turned into cycling skating and jogging routes.

It’s difficult to imagine that a mere 100 meters or so away there’s a fuming log jam of buses, cars, motorcycles, vans, lorries plus, of course, pedestrians dodging those uneven pavements, road works, florists and newspaper stalls!

In the middle of this tranquility there is, not surprisingly, another statue . Even though I have slightly overdosed on such creations recently, I have to say this is a magnificent marble and bronze specimen made to celebrate the centenary of Argentina’s independence from Spain.

The locals call these parks the ‘Breath of Buenos Aires’ as the many trees go some way to offsetting the carbon emissions from the nearby traffic. I thought it was ‘Hug a Tree Week’ though when I saw this lot

but it tuned out to be advertising for some show at the nearby exhibition centre. Good thing, really as hugging this one would have been a bit of a challenge.

After 8 miles of trundling, my poorly foot was beginning to slow progress so I thought about taking one of Buenos Aires’ Boris Bikes

but just like their London counterparts, the instructions were far too complicated for mortals such as I. However, I was tempted by a horse drawn transport option but hadn’t the heart to wake the driver.